Text Talk Lesson
For
I Know An Old Teacher
By Anne Bowen
Illustrated by Stephen Gammell
Carolhoda Books, 2008
Summary: In this well-known cumulative rhyme, a teacher purposefully swallows a flea, then follows it with an assortment of classroom pets while her students look on in surprise.
Focus: To read a fun story about a teacher and her classroom pets and to find out what happens and this story compares to the rhyme “I Know An Old Lady.”
Comments and Questions:
Cover:
Show cover and read the title, author, and illustrator.
What’s going on in this picture? ( Animals are crawling everywhere on Miss Bindley and her desk.)
What do you think will happen? ( Students answers will vary.)
Page 1
1. “ Miss Bindley is taking the pets home for the long weekend, why do you think she needs to take them home?” ( to take care of them.)
2. “ Let’s read and see what’s going to happen.”
Page 2 & 3
1. Show the children both pages, point out the school and Miss Bindley’s house.
2. “Looks like she’s going home for the weekend.”
Page 7
1. What are the children doing? (peeking through the windows at Miss Bindley’s house, watching her)
Page 9
1. “Oh my goodness, that’s a big yucky spider!”
2. Do we have spider’s around here that have long legs, and look like that? (“daddy long legs“)
Page 11
1. “Uh-oh, what is doing here?”
Page 13
1. What do you think would happen if you swallowed that fish?
Page 15
1. Looking, at the picture, how do you think Miss Bindley feels? ( sick, her stomach hurts)
Page 16
1. “That’s gross!”
Page 23
1. Look at Miss Bindley’s face now, how do you think she feels? ( green face, sick)
Page 29
1. “Uh-oh, what do you think is going to happen?” (she’s going to try to eat a child)
Wrap- Up
1. Miss Bindley swallowed many class pets, how do you think she felt afterwards? (sick, probably had a stomachache)
2. What do you think her students thought about her swallowing their pets?
(answers will vary)
(optional depending where you want to lead the students)
This can lead into a lesson on pets and other animals.
3. Who has pets at home?
4. What kinds of pets do you have?
This story didn’t have any difficult words to discuss or explain.
I like the ideas you included in your wrap up. It makes children really think. I also love this book! It is so fun to read, and children love it also! I like the discussion about pets at the end also. Great way to tie that in!
Allison,
I hope you get to do this lesson.
Woody Trathen